JP6983389B2 - Gas pressure regulator for fuel cell system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a gas pressure regulator for a fuel cell system in which the gas pressure of high-pressure liquefied petroleum gas stored in a container is reduced to a predetermined pressure and then supplied to the fuel cell system.

The gas pressure regulator for a fuel cell system is used to reduce the pressure of high-pressure liquefied petroleum gas (propane or the like) stored in a container such as a gas cylinder to the pressure of the gas supplied to the fuel cell system. This fuel cell system includes a fuel reforming unit and a power generation unit. The fuel reforming section reforms liquefied petroleum gas into hydrogen, and the reformed hydrogen and oxygen are reacted in the power generation section to obtain electricity and heat.

A odorant is added to the liquefied petroleum gas so that the user can immediately notice when the gas leaks. Many of these odorants contain sulfur as a component. Sulfur added to the odorant adversely affects the function of the fuel reforming unit, and is therefore removed by using a desulfurizing agent before the reforming. As shown in FIG. 5, the concentration of this odorant is relatively low when the amount of residual liquid in the container is large, but gradually increases as the amount of residual liquid decreases. This is because the odorant is less likely to vaporize than a gas component such as liquefied petroleum gas, and the odorant is gradually concentrated. When the concentration of the odorant becomes high, the desulfurization agent must be replaced frequently, which is problematic in terms of cost.

Therefore, for example, in Patent Document 1, in a fuel gas supply device for supplying fuel gas from a gas container containing a sulfur-based odorant to a fuel cell system, a gas containing an odorant having a predetermined concentration or higher does not flow into the fuel cell system. The control is performed so as to. For example, when the concentration of the odorant that begins to adversely affect the fuel cell system is c, the amount of residual liquid in the container corresponding to the concentration c of the odorant is Vc, as shown in FIG. As can be seen from FIG. 6, which shows the relationship between the amount of residual liquid in the container and the pressure in the container, the pressure in the container decreases as the amount of residual liquid in the container decreases, and the amount of residual liquid in the container becomes Vc ( The concentration of the odorant is c) when the pressure inside the container is Pc.

Therefore, in this fuel gas supply device, a medium pressure coil spring built in an automatic switching regulator that switches between gas supply from the gas cylinder on the use side and gas supply from the gas cylinder on the spare side has an appropriate urging force. By adopting it, when the internal pressure of the gas cylinder on the use side drops to Pc, the gas supply path is switched so that gas is supplied from the gas cylinder on the spare side, and the odorant with a concentration of c or more is added to the fuel cell system. The gas containing the above is prevented from flowing (see paragraphs 0067 to 0069, 0093, etc. of this document).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-11753

In the configuration described in Patent Document 1, even after the gas pressure of the gas cylinder on the use side drops and the gas supply path is switched to the gas cylinder on the spare side, the gas flow path on the gas cylinder side on the use side is in an open state. It has become. Therefore, for example, when the gas flow rate is small and the gas pressure in the medium pressure chamber is low, a gas having a relatively high odorant concentration (concentration is c or more) is sent from the gas cylinder on the use side where the supply is stopped to the medium pressure chamber. Gas) may be mixed in and the gas containing a high concentration of odorant may be supplied to the fuel cell system as it is.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to prevent the fuel cell system from being supplied with a gas containing a high concentration of odorant.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention presents an odor that increases with a decrease in the gas pressure from the gas pressure of the gas to which a odorant containing sulfur is added, which is supplied from a container for storing the gas. Detecting that the concentration of the agent has reached a predetermined concentration, the shutoff device that shuts off the supply of gas from the container and the gas pressure of the gas supplied from the shutoff device are reduced to a predetermined pressure. The gas pressure regulator for the fuel cell system was configured with the regulator body to be sent to the fuel cell system above.

In this way, by making it possible to cut off the supply in response to the gas pressure of this gas before the gas is sent to the regulator body, even if the gas flow rate is small, the regulator body Can prevent gas containing a high concentration of odorant from being sent to the fuel cell system.

In the above configuration, the shutoff device includes a check valve provided on the container side and a differential pressure valve provided on the downstream side of the check valve, and the differential pressure valve is a valve body and the valve body. A primary chamber formed on the upstream side of the valve body, which has an orifice provided so as to be slidable in the axial direction with respect to the valve body and an urging member for urging the orifice to abut on the valve body. When the differential pressure obtained by subtracting the gas pressure of the secondary chamber formed on the downstream side of the orifice from the gas pressure of the above is a predetermined pressure or more, the orifice is axially opposed to the urging force of the urging member. By sliding, a flow path through which gas flows is formed between the valve body and the orifice, while when the differential pressure is smaller than the predetermined pressure, the orifice abuts on the valve body. It is preferable to have a configuration that blocks the flow path.

When the shutoff device is configured in this way, the supply of gas to the regulator main body can be cut off with a simple configuration.

The present invention employs a configuration in which a regulator body that sends decompressed gas from a gas storage container to a fuel cell system is provided with a shutoff device that prevents gas containing a odorant having a predetermined concentration or higher from flowing. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the fuel cell system from being supplied with a gas containing a high concentration of odorant.

Overall configuration diagram (partial vertical sectional view) showing the first embodiment of the gas pressure regulator for a fuel cell system according to the present invention. It is a vertical cross-sectional view which shows the shut-off device of the gas pressure regulator for a fuel cell system shown in FIG. Time Sectional drawing along line III-III in FIG. Sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. The figure which shows an example of the concentration change of the propane and the odorant in a storage container. The figure which shows the relationship between the residual liquid in a storage container and the pressure in a container. Overall configuration diagram (partial vertical sectional view) showing a second embodiment of the gas pressure regulator for a fuel cell system according to the present invention.

The first embodiment of the gas pressure regulator for a fuel cell system (hereinafter, abbreviated as a pressure regulator) according to the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. This pressure regulator is a device for sending liquefied petroleum gas (propane, etc.) stored in a container such as a gas cylinder to a fuel cell system, and as shown in FIG. 1, the shutoff device 10 and the regulator main body. 20 is the main component. _{A main container B 1 and a spare sub-container B 2} used when the remaining amount of gas in the main container B ₁ is reduced are connected to the shutoff device 10 via a hose H, respectively. Further, a fuel cell system (not shown) is connected to the regulator main body 20 via a hose (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 2, the breaking device 10 has a cylindrical first cylinder portion 11 and a second cylinder portion 12 screwed into the first cylinder portion. _{A check valve 13 is provided on the connection side with the main container B 1} or the sub container B ₂ (see FIG. 1) in both the cylinder portions 11 and 12, and a differential pressure valve 14 is provided on the downstream side of the check valve 13. Be done.

The check valve 13 axially moves the valve body 13a so that the valve body 13a that can move in the axial direction, the valve seat 13b that the valve body 13a can abut on, and the valve body 13a and the valve seat 13b are separated from each other. The urging member 13c and the urging member 13c are provided. An O-ring 13d is provided at the tip of the valve body 13a to improve the airtightness when the valve body 13a is seated on the valve seat 13b. A retaining ring (CR type retaining ring) 13e is provided on the downstream side of the valve body 13a, and the retaining ring 13e prevents the valve body 13a from moving to the downstream side beyond a predetermined amount.

This check valve 13 is a normally open type, and when the differential pressure obtained by subtracting the gas pressure of the primary chamber 16 on the downstream side of the check valve 13 from the gas pressure of the container connection port 15 is equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure (container). The valve body 13a and the valve seat 13b are separated from each other (when _{B 1} and B _{2 are connected to the container connection port 15).} On the other hand, for example, when the gas pressure of the container connection port 15 becomes atmospheric pressure due to the container replacement, as shown in FIG. 2 (c), the valve body 13a is seated on the valve seat 13b due to the differential pressure. As a result, the backflow of gas is prevented.

The differential pressure valve 14 brings the valve body 14a provided in the second tubular portion 12, the orifice 14b provided so as to be slidable in the axial direction with respect to the valve body 14a, and the orifice 14b into contact with the valve body 14a. It is provided with an urging member 14c that urges in a direction. The valve body 14a is composed of a tip member 14a ₁ and a shaft member 14a ₂ inserted into the tip member 14a ₁ . The tip member 14a ₁ is fixed in the second tubular portion 12 so as not to be movable in the axial direction via a retaining ring (CR type retaining ring) 14d.

The differential pressure valve 14 is a normally closed type, and when the differential pressure obtained by subtracting the gas pressure of the secondary chamber 17 on the downstream side from the gas pressure of the primary chamber 16 on the upstream side of the valve body 14a is smaller than the predetermined pressure. As shown in FIG. 2A, the orifice 14b abuts on the valve body 14a due to the urging force of the urging member 14c, and the flow path through which the gas flows is blocked. On the other hand, when the differential pressure is equal to or higher than the predetermined pressure, the orifice 14b slides downstream against the urging force of the urging member 14c as shown in FIG. 2 (b). Along with the sliding of the orifice 14b, a flow path through which gas flows is formed between the valve body 14a and the orifice 14b. Then, the gas flows through this flow path (see the arrow f in this figure).

By continuously providing the check valve 13 and the differential pressure valve 14 in this way, it is possible to reliably prevent the backflow of gas from the shutoff device 10 at the time of container replacement.

As conceptually shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the residual amount of liquid in the main container B _1, a predetermined relationship between the concentration and the container internal pressure of the odorant. Therefore, if the pressure inside the container is known, the odorant concentration can be estimated. Further, there is a predetermined relationship between the pressure inside the container and the differential pressure. Therefore, the odorant concentration and the differential pressure can be directly related. A predetermined differential pressure for setting the odorant concentration c that does not adversely affect the fuel cell system is determined in advance, and the differential pressure valve 14 of the shutoff device 10 is operated based on this differential pressure to act as the regulator main body. 20 and the fuel cell system can be prevented from inflowing gas containing an odorant having a predetermined concentration c or more.

The regulator main body 20 is a so-called automatic switching pressure regulator that automatically switches the gas supply from the _{main container B 1} and the sub container B _{2 and reduces the gas pressure, and the regulator main body 20 is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.} As shown in the cross-sectional view, the _{switching mechanism 21 for switching between the gas flow path from the main container B 1} and the gas flow path from the sub container B ₂ and the gas pressure of the gas supplied from the shutoff device 10 are applied to the fuel cell system. It has a decompression mechanism 22 that lowers the supply pressure. The mechanisms 21 and 22 are housed in a housing 23 (front housing 23a, rear housing 23b).

The switching mechanism 21 has a medium pressure diaphragm 24 provided so as to be sandwiched between the front housing 23a and the rear housing 23b. The inside of the switching mechanism 21 is divided into a first atmosphere chamber 25 and a medium pressure chamber 26 by the medium pressure diaphragm 24. A medium pressure interlocking element 27 and a medium pressure receiving plate 28 are coaxially provided at the center of the medium pressure diaphragm 24, and the medium pressure diaphragm 24 is sandwiched between the medium pressure interlocking element 27 and the medium pressure receiving plate 28. It is in a state. A flange 27a extending in the axial direction is formed on one end side in the axial direction (left side in FIG. 3) of the medium pressure interlocker 27, and a screw is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the flange 27a.

The first atmosphere chamber 25 communicates with the internal space 29a of the medium pressure cap 29, which will be described later, by a ventilation path (not shown). The internal space 29a communicates with the outside by a ventilation gap 30 formed between the hollow cap 29 and the front housing 23a. As a result, the atmospheric pressure in the first atmosphere chamber 25 is maintained at atmospheric pressure.

A switching shaft 31 is inserted through the axis of the medium pressure diaphragm 24, the medium pressure interlocking element 27, and the medium pressure receiving plate 28. A nut 32 is screwed into the flange 27a of the medium pressure interlocker 27. As a result, the medium pressure diaphragm 24, the medium pressure interlocking element 27, and the medium pressure receiving plate 28 are fastened to the switching shaft 31, and these are integrally moved in the axial direction.

On the front side (left side in FIG. 3) of the front housing 23a, a through hole 34 through which the switching shaft 31 and the signal stand 33 described later is inserted is formed. The peripheral edge of the through hole 34 is once folded toward the switching shaft 31, and further folded toward the rear side (right side in FIG. 3) of the front housing 23a. A medium pressure spring 36 is provided in the recess 35 (spring seat) formed by the two foldings. The medium pressure spring 36 urges the medium pressure receiving plate 28 from the first atmosphere chamber 25 side toward the medium pressure chamber 26 side. A gas having a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure is introduced into the medium pressure chamber 26, and the gas pressure of this gas causes the medium pressure diaphragm 24 (medium pressure interlocking element 27, medium pressure receiving plate 28) to be urged by the medium pressure spring 36. Pushing back against. The medium pressure diaphragm 24 and the like stop at the axial position where the urging force and the gas pressure are balanced.

A signal base 33 having a through hole 33a formed in the axial center is fitted on the front side of the front housing 23a. A medium pressure cap 29 is rotatably fitted around the axis of the signal table 33 together with the signal table 33. One end side of the switching shaft 31 is inserted into the through hole 33a formed in the signal table 33. A signal 37 is provided on the signal table 33 so as to be undulating. This signal 37 is in a prone state (state shown in FIG. 3) when the switching shaft 31 is located on the medium pressure cap 29 side (left side in FIG. 3), while the switching shaft 31 is on the medium pressure chamber 26 side (the state shown in FIG. 3). When it moves to the right side of FIG. 3), it rises up and its end is configured to be located in front of the display window 38 formed at the axis of the medium pressure cap 29.

When the amount of residual liquid in the main container B ₁ is sufficient and the gas pressure is high, the gas pressure in the medium pressure chamber 26 is sufficiently high as compared with the atmospheric pressure. Therefore, the switching shaft 31 that moves integrally in the axial direction together with the medium pressure diaphragm 24 is located on the medium pressure cap 29 side. At this time, since the signal 37 is in a prone state, the signal 37 cannot be visually recognized from the display window 38. On the other hand, when the _{amount of residual liquid in the main container B 1} decreases and the gas pressure in the medium pressure chamber 26 becomes relatively low as compared with the time when the use starts, the switching shaft 31 gradually shifts to the medium pressure chamber 26 side. Moving. Along with this movement, the signal 37 rises, and the signal 37 can be visually recognized from the display window 38. As a result, the user _{can know that the internal pressure of the main container B 1} has become low and it is time to replace it.

The medium pressure cap 29 is formed with a switching display unit 39 that projects outward in the radial direction. The medium pressure cap 29 is rotated around the axis, and the tip of the switching display unit 39 is connected to the connection port side with the hose H connected _{to the main container B 1} or with the hose H connected to the _{sub container B 2.} By pointing to either side of the mouth, the containers B ₁ and B ₂ that initially receive the gas supply can be specified. Typically, in the initial state, the switching display unit 39 is set so as to face the connection port of the connected hose H to the main vessel B _1.

On the rear end side (right side of FIG. 3) of the switching shaft 31, a switching plate 40 that rotates around the axis and moves in the axial direction is provided together with the switching shaft 31. The switching plate 40 is formed with a thick thick portion 40a in the axial direction and a thin thin portion 40b in the axial direction, and the thick portion 40a and the thin wall portion 40b are connected by an inclined surface 40c. The switching plate 40 rotates around an axis together with the medium pressure cap 29.

As shown in FIG. 4, the rear housing 23b is formed with connection ports 41a and 41b for connecting the breaking devices 10 connected to _{the main container B 1} and the sub-container B _{2, respectively.} The connection port 41a, the concave portion 42 formed on the rear side of 41b, a pair of medium pressure valve mechanism 43a for performing adjustment of the shut-off and flow rate of gas supplied from each container B _1, B _2, 43b is It is provided.

A medium pressure nozzle 44 is provided inside the medium pressure valve mechanisms 43a and 43b. A through hole 45 through which the rotation shaft 40d of the switching plate 40 is inserted is formed in the central portion of the medium pressure nozzle 44. A medium pressure valve seat 46 is formed at the end of a guide hole 49 described later formed in the medium pressure nozzle 44. A medium pressure valve body 47 that moves in the axial direction and can be brought into contact with and detached from the medium pressure valve seat 46 is provided coaxially with the central axis of the medium pressure valve seat 46. The medium pressure valve body 47 is integrally provided with a valve rod 48 coaxially with the medium pressure valve body 47.

The valve stem 48 faces the switching plate 40. In being directed to the connection port 41a side of the hose H to the tip of the switching display unit 39 connected to the main vessel B ₁ medium pressure cap 29, the connected to the main vessel B ₁ connecting port 41a side medium pressure The valve rod 48 of the valve mechanism 43a faces the thick portion 40a of the switching plate 40, and the valve rod 48 of the medium pressure valve mechanism 43b on the connection port 41b side connected _{to the sub-container B 2 has a thin wall of the switching plate 40.} It faces the portion 40b. The medium pressure nozzle 44 is formed with a guide hole 49 through which the valve rod 48 is inserted. By passing the valve rod 48 through the guide hole 49, the valve rod 48 can be smoothly guided in the axial direction.

The recess 42 is provided with a spring seat 50. The spring seat 50 is provided with a counter spring 51 that abuts on the medium pressure valve body 47 and urges the medium pressure valve body 47 toward the medium pressure valve seat 46. When no external force acts on the valve rod 48, the medium pressure valve mechanisms 43a and 43b are closed by the urging force of the counter spring 51.

When the gas is supplied from the main container B ₁ , the medium pressure diaphragm 24 is almost stopped at the axial position where the urging force of the medium pressure spring 36 and the gas pressure in the medium pressure chamber 26 are balanced. In this case, the thick portion 40a of the switch plate 40 moves with the medium pressure diaphragm 24 in the axial direction, the valve stem 48 of the medium pressure valve mechanism 43a of the main container B ₁ side against the urging force of the counter spring 51 is pushed The medium pressure valve mechanism 43a is in a state of being opened. The valve opening degree of the medium pressure valve mechanism 43a is appropriately adjusted so that the gas pressure in the medium pressure chamber 26 is maintained at a predetermined value. The valve rod 48 of the medium pressure valve mechanism 43b on the side of the auxiliary container B ₂ is separated from the thin portion 40b of the switching plate 40, and the medium pressure valve mechanism 40b remains closed (FIG. 4). reference).

With the gas supply from the main container B _1, the main container pressure is lowered to a predetermined pressure Pc, the main container B ₁ side cut-off device 10 of is interrupted the supply of gas in operation, medium-pressure chamber 26 Gas pressure drops. As the gas pressure decreases, the medium pressure diaphragm 24 moves to the medium pressure chamber 26 side together with the switching plate 40. Then, the valve stem 48 of the thin portion 40b and the sub-container B ₂ side of the medium pressure valve mechanism 43b of the switching plate 40 abuts, the valve stem 48 is pressed against the urging force of the counter spring 51. As a result, the medium pressure valve mechanism 43b on the _{sub-container B 2} side is opened, and even after the gas supply from the _{main container B 1} is cut off, the gas is continuously supplied from _{the sub-container B 2.}

When the medium pressure valve mechanism 43b on the auxiliary container B _{2 side is in the valve open state, the medium pressure valve mechanism 43a on the main container B 1} side remains in the valve open state, but is provided on _{the main container B 1 side.} since the shut-off device 10 is in the cutoff state, there is no possibility that gas containing the main container B ₁ side from the high concentration odorant flow into the regulator body 20.

The decompression mechanism 22 has a low pressure diaphragm 52 provided so as to be sandwiched between the front housing 23a and the rear housing 23b. The low pressure diaphragm 52 divides the inside of the decompression mechanism 22 into a second atmosphere chamber 53 and a low pressure chamber 54. A low pressure interlocking element 55 and a low pressure receiving plate 56 are coaxially provided at the center of the low pressure diaphragm 52, and the low pressure diaphragm 52 is sandwiched between the low pressure interlocking element 55 and the low pressure receiving plate 56. There is. A low-pressure spring 57 is provided between the inner wall surface of the second air chamber 53 and the low-pressure pressure receiving plate 56. The low pressure spring 57 urges the low pressure receiving plate 56 from the second atmosphere chamber 53 side toward the low pressure chamber 54 side. A gas having a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure is introduced into the low pressure chamber 54, and the gas pressure of this gas causes the low pressure diaphragm 52 (low pressure interlocking element 55, low pressure pressure receiving plate 56) to resist the urging force of the low pressure spring 57. Pushing back. The low pressure diaphragm 52 stops at an axial position where the urging force and the gas pressure are balanced.

The low pressure diaphragm 52 also has a function as a safety valve 58. The safety valve 58 is formed on the low pressure interlocking element 55 in the radial direction and has an annular projection 55a that can abut on the surface of the low pressure diaphragm. In the second atmosphere chamber 53, a spring seat 59 having a through hole formed in the axis is provided. The through hole holds the retaining portion 55b formed on one end side of the low pressure interlocking element 55. A safety valve spring 60 is provided between the spring seat 59 and the low pressure pressure receiving plate 56. The safety valve spring 60 urges the spring seat 59 forward (on the left side in FIG. 3) with respect to the low-pressure pressure receiving plate 56. By this urging, the annular projection 55a of the low pressure interlocking element 55 held by the spring seat 59 is pressed against the surface of the low pressure diaphragm 52, and the airtightness between the second air chamber 53 and the low pressure chamber 54 is ensured.

When the pressure in the low pressure chamber 54 rises above an allowable value for some reason, the low pressure diaphragm 52 moves toward the second atmosphere chamber 53 due to the differential pressure between the second atmosphere chamber 53 and the low pressure chamber 54. On the other hand, since the low pressure interlocking element 55 is locked by the lever 64 described later, it cannot move in the same direction as the low pressure diaphragm 52. As a result, a gap is created between the low pressure diaphragm 52 and the annular projection 55a of the low pressure interlocking element 55 against the urging force of the safety valve spring 60. Safety is ensured by allowing the gas in the low pressure chamber 54 to escape to the second atmosphere chamber 53 side through this gap.

The second atmospheric chamber 53 communicates with the first atmospheric chamber 25 by an atmospheric communication passage 61, and the atmospheric pressure in the second atmospheric chamber 53 is maintained at atmospheric pressure. Further, a medium pressure flow path 62 is formed between the low pressure chamber 54 and the medium pressure chamber 26.

A locking portion 55c is formed on the other end side of the low pressure interlocking element 55. One end of a lever 64 that can rotate around the rotation shaft 63 is locked to the locking portion 55c. At the end of the medium pressure flow path 62, a low pressure valve mechanism 65 for further reducing the gas decompressed by the medium pressure valve mechanisms 43a and 43b to the supply pressure to the fuel cell system is provided.

A low pressure nozzle 66 is provided inside the low pressure valve mechanism 65. A through hole 67 is formed in the axial center of the low pressure nozzle 66, and a low pressure valve seat 68 is formed at the outlet end of the through hole 67. A low-pressure valve body 69 that moves in the axial direction and can be brought into contact with and detached from the low-pressure valve seat 68 is provided coaxially with the central axis of the low-pressure valve seat 68. A low-pressure valve rubber 70 is provided at the contact portion of the low-pressure valve body 69 with the low-pressure valve seat 68 to improve the airtightness when the valve is closed. An engaging hole 71 is formed in the low pressure valve body 69, and the other end side of the lever 64 is engaged with the engaging hole 71.

When the gas pressure in the low pressure chamber 54 drops, the low pressure interlocking element 55 moves to the low pressure chamber 54 side together with the low pressure diaphragm 52 by the urging force of the low pressure spring 57. Then, the lever 64 rotates in one direction around the rotation axis (clockwise in FIG. 3), and the low-pressure valve body 69 locked to the other end side of the lever 64 is separated from the low-pressure valve seat 68. Move to. As a result, the low pressure valve mechanism 65 is opened, and gas is introduced from the medium pressure chamber 26 through the medium pressure flow path 62 into the low pressure chamber 54.

On the other hand, when the gas pressure in the low pressure chamber 54 increases, the low pressure interlocking element 55 moves to the second atmosphere chamber 53 side together with the low pressure diaphragm 52 against the urging force of the low pressure spring 57. Then, the lever 64 rotates in the direction opposite to the one direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 3) around the rotation axis, and moves the low pressure valve body 69 so as to abut on the low pressure valve seat 68. As a result, the degree of valve opening of the low pressure valve mechanism 65 becomes small, or the low pressure valve mechanism 65 is closed, and the increase in gas pressure in the low pressure chamber 54 is controlled. The valve opening degree of the low pressure valve mechanism 65 is appropriately adjusted so that the gas pressure in the low pressure chamber 54 is maintained at a predetermined value. The gas depressurized by the low pressure valve mechanism 65 is sent to the fuel cell system through the low pressure flow path 72 and the delivery port 73.

A second embodiment of the pressure regulator according to the present invention is shown in FIG. In this pressure regulator, the configuration of the breaking device 10 is the same as that of the pressure regulator breaking device 10 according to the first embodiment, but the configuration of the regulator main body 20 is the regulator main body 20 according to the first embodiment. Is different. The regulator main body 20 is a so-called two-stage integrated pressure regulator in which the pressure inside the container is reduced to a medium pressure and then further reduced to a low pressure suitable for supply to a fuel cell system. The regulator main body 20 _{does not have a function of switching the gas supply from the containers B 1} and B _{2, and the gas supplied from one of the containers B 1} before the gas is introduced into the regulator main body 20 and the gas. The gas supplied from the other container B _{2 is mixed.} A shutoff device 10 is provided in each of the supply paths from the containers B ₁ and B _2.

Also in the pressure regulator according to the second embodiment, when the pressure in each container B ₁ and B ₂ falls below a predetermined pressure, _{the gas supply from each container B 1} and B ₂ is cut off by the shutoff device 10. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the gas containing the high-concentration odorant from being supplied to the fuel cell system via the regulator main body 20.

The pressure regulator according to each of the above embodiments can be installed by replacing the existing pressure regulator, but when the regulator main body 20 is already installed, the pressure can be increased by installing only the shutoff device 10 afterwards. A regulator can also be configured. As described above, by using the existing regulator main body 20 as it is, the installation cost can be significantly reduced.

The pressure regulator described above is merely an example, and is a shutoff device as long as it can solve the problem of the present invention of suppressing the supply of a gas containing a high concentration of odorant to the fuel cell system. The configurations of the 10 and the regulator main body 20 can be changed as appropriate. In each of the above embodiments, the configuration in which the main container (one container) B ₁ is provided with the sub-container (the other container) B ₂ is exemplified, but the configuration in which _{only the main container (one container) B 1} is connected is illustrated. It can also be.

10 Shutoff device 13 Check valve 14 Differential pressure valve 14a Valve body 14b Orifice 14c Bouncer 16 Primary chamber 17 Secondary chamber 20 Regulator body B ₁ Container (main container)

Claims (1)

Gas supplied from the container for storing the (B _1), from a gas pressure of the gas odorant has been added, including sulfur, the concentration of odorant increases with decrease of the gas pressure, a predetermined concentration A shutoff device (10) that cuts off the supply of gas from the container (B _{1) by detecting that the gas has reached}
A regulator body (20) that reduces the gas pressure of the gas supplied from the shutoff device (10) to a predetermined pressure and then sends it to the fuel cell system.
Equipped with
The shutoff device (10) _{includes a check valve (13) provided on the container (B 1} ) side and a differential pressure valve (14) provided on the downstream side of the check valve (13).
The differential pressure valve (14) is provided with a valve body (14a), an orifice (14b) slidable in the axial direction with respect to the valve body (14a), and the orifice (14b) is provided with the valve body (14a). With an urging member (14c) that urges the body to abut on the
The differential pressure obtained by subtracting the gas pressure of the secondary chamber (17) formed on the downstream side of the orifice (14b) from the gas pressure of the primary chamber (16) formed on the upstream side of the valve body (14a) is When the pressure is equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure, the orifice (14b) slides in the axial direction against the urging force of the urging member (14c) and is between the valve body (14a) and the orifice (14b). A fuel cell system in which the orifice (14b) abuts on the valve body (14a) to block the flow path when the differential pressure is smaller than the predetermined pressure while the flow path through which the gas flows is formed. For gas pressure regulator.

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